Sudan on Thursday inaugurated a railway linking the north and south for the first time since decades of civil war affected the country, Africas largest.
Officials said the railway will provide a crucial economic link and lower commercial transportation costs. The 446 kilometer railway was originally built in the 1960s and will re-connect the town of Babanusa in central Sudan to Wau town in the south.
There are a few, poor roads between the south and the north but they become almost impassable during the long rainy season, said South Sudan’s Director General of Railways Nhial Bol.
At the inauguration of the railway, Sudan’s President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir promised more railway connections in Sudan extending from Wau to Rumbek, Juba and Uganda. He said that he had agreed with Uganda and Kenyan on business deals to empower the countrys economy.
This project cost 51 million US dollar and was funded largely by the Unity Support Fund, which was established by presidential decree on June 15, 2008 as a means to ‘make unity attractive’ ahead of the 2011 referendum on South Sudan’s independence.
International donors were also involved with some funding administered by the World Bank.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
